Chapter 2 - The Free Time From Hell
by DigiConjurer
Summary: (Book 3 of Princess Byleth) With one month now under her belt, Byleth is riding high. But she's about to face her biggest challenge yet - actually teaching. That, and the titular Free Time from Hell.
1. That was a meeting, alright

I don't own fire emblem.

Summary: We have a staff meeting, we see even more of Rhea's questionable hiring abilities and Byleth gets awarded some clothes.

Oh, and the narrator shouts about her universe and it's general nonsensery.

* * *

**Log 13: That was a meeting alright**

A few days have passed since the mock battle. Which meant a day or two of rest and relaxation for most of the students and faculty members. Except for Sothis, who's little stunt had stripped her of the precious 3DS time she so desired.

"Why do I have to come? Sothis muttered, her guardian's grip shifting slightly. A deep breath followed.

"You flung a sword at Claude." the professor remarked. "You could've gotten me fired. The least you could do is stay with me for the meeting."

Sothis rolled her eyes. She didn't care one bit about any of this. If anything, Byleth should be thanking her for saving her life. Had it not been for her, Claude would've gotten her. Of course, Dorothea would've probably done the same.

Thankfully, it was just a short drone flight up to the second floor of Gareg Mach. Followed by a short walk to the entrance of Rhea's audience chamber.

"There you are."

Shamir stood right outside the chambers, stewing about. Probably something to do with her girlfriend.

"That stupid whore." the archer muttered, going silent when the pair reached her. "Who might this green haired girl you brought with you be?"

Byleth took a deep breath. After, she put Sothis in front of her.

"This is Sothis." the professor explained, Sothis trying her best to get behind her guardian. "She sort of appeared one day and has been living with me."

"Oh."

Shamir looked away, making a glance towards the stairs of the third floor of this building. Possibly this is where her elusive girlfriend is holed up. Or thought to be at least?

"Anything that you need help me with?"

Shamir sighed, but shook her head.

"Not at the moment." Shamir remarked and headed through. Byleth and Sothis followed right behind. A table and chairs had been set up in the middle of the room with a large empty spot on the side. Sitting in said chairs, were Rhea and the various facility staff. Though, that doesn't explain why Flayn and a kid with very tanned skin and red eyes are seated at this table.

"Hello?" Byleth greeted, her gaze already on the boy at the moment. In return, she got a confused glance. "I'm Byleth. What's your name?"

The boy cleared his throat. Trying his best to keep eye contact, this wasn't much of a success. Mostly because his focus was split between Byleth, Shamir and Rhea at the moment.

"Cyril." he eventually announced as Byleth took a seat. For the moment, Sothis could just sit on her lap.

"Hmph." Sothis growled, but took her seat on her guardian's lap. "Hey, isn't that you dad?"

Byleth looked to her left, finding Jeralt sitting there. He appeared to be already drinking from his flask.

"Hi dad." Byleth greeted, giving a wave in the process. She got a wave back. While there's slightly more effort put in it than her own, it's still a wave. Far better ways to communicate such emotion. Especially when compared to the man beside him emoting what can only be described as complete and utter angst. They sure know how to pick them, don't they?

"Is that everyone?"

A mix of sighs and groans echoed about the audience chamber. None of them good. Not that I'm entirely sure if there's such a thing. Probably not.

"Of course, Bartholomew is late." Alois remarked, letting out a groan. "But I'm not wyvern about it."

Not even a chuckle. With a joke as awful as Lasl- no, Soleil's pickup lines are just plain awful. Like seriously, how the fuck does she charm the heart of so many girls. Then go and make the one who wants so badly to watch two men fuck their brains out their wife of all people. Somehow, they make it work. Wouldn't surprise if this whole continent (Hoshido and Nohr) was a Deeprealm. Sorry. I got off topic there.

"Me am here, everyone!"

A wyvern riding a horse of all creatures walked on in. There are so many things wrong with this. For starters, who taught that wyvern English? Most in Nohr's service all speak Russian to varying degrees. Heck, that sentence isn't even grammatically correct. Secondly, how the hell is that horse even able to hold it's passenger.

"Good morning, Bartholomew." Rhea greeted, watching the wyvern perk up. After, their gaze scans the room. Focusing in on Byleth and Sothis, the strange pair make their way over. "That's Byleth, instructor for the Black Eagles."

Bartholomew's gaze shifted back to Rhea. Mumbling something in broken English, they return to focusing on our main pair.

"Me welcome you to Gareg Mach." the wyvern announced, getting off the horse. Even without his equine steed, they were quite massive. Possibly even larger than one that lilac-haired bimbo and her assassin boy? Girl? Rides on. Better yet, why is she even on a wyvern in the first place? Assassins are supposed to be stealthy! Not riding around on creatures who are known to be loud as heavy machinery. "Business some other day?"

Byleth gave the wyvern a shrug and watched both creatures take their spot at the table. After, Rhea cleared her throat.

"To start out our staff meeting, I will be handing out assignments." Rhea explained, pulling out what looked to be a stack of folders. She passed them out. Even to Bartholomew. Not sure why, though.

After, Byleth opened it up.

"Huh…" she thought, Sothis's gaze already on it.

_New Mission: Survive the Free Time of Hell_

_-Collect Intel_

_-Talk to that nice guy at the gate_

_-Make some friends_

_-Kick ? in the groin, maybe._

_-Give some body a gift._

_-Learn to sing_

_-A bunch of other stuff_

Oh. And maybe kill some bandits with your students. ;)

-Rhea

This had to be some trick. There was no way that this is the actual paper. So Byleth looked it over one more time.

"Damn it." the professor muttered, only to get smacked upside the forehead with no less than two uniforms. The first, resembled that of the officer uniform. The other, looked like something from a now defunct basketball team. Probably the Valan Doves or something.

"We'll also be getting maid and butler costumes soon." Rhea cooed, a death glare coming from Shamir. "I could dress you up. You know how she gets."

Looking away, Shamir let out a grumble. One of these days, she would break this chain. Not today, though. Just had to wait for the right moment.

"You're free to go, Byleth and Sothis." Rhea explained, watching the pair get up from their seats and head back to their rooms via drone. "Now, where was I?"

* * *

Notes:

Welcome to chapter 2. Aptly named because a lot of stuff opens up during your second free time.

Bartholomew is my answer to who takes care of the wyverns. We'll be seeing them around. As far as I know, he is still the 'dumbest' 3h OC so far.

And while Beruka is my favorite character of Fates, I'm fully aware how absurd it is for an assassin to be riding around on a wyvern. Though, we're going to be talking a lot about Fate's characters going forward.

Next Time: We have our first


	2. Princess Byleth takes the stage!

I don't own fire emblem.

Summary: Our First* Princess Time of the story and things are looking up for our heroes... Except they're not.

* * *

**Log 14: Princess Byleth takes the stage!**

The drone flight back was not the best for Byleth. In between having to hold two costumes and the folder, the fear of accidentally dropping something and hitting a student was quite high. That was without her mind trying to get a handle on what even this 'free time of hell' was in the first place. While her first actual day off hadn't been so bad, she did have to run around the entire Monastery. Don't forget she also has Sothis on her back. That would be even worse to drop. Especially since the extent of fighting this strange girl can take was still not known.

The moment that the pair were back on solid ground, Byleth took a deep breath. While she hadn't planned for the meeting to be over so shortly, it made the surprise arrival of the large box in front of her doorstep all the more sweeter. Hopefully.

"Do I get my 3DS back now?" Sothis muttered, watching Byleth look away. Just as she was about to go into a full-on tantrum on her, the device finds it way to Sothis's hands.

"Better?"

Sothis nodded, whispering something to the inanimate object. I'm not even going to ask. Not worth it.

As for our professor here, her focus was still primarily on the box. Which considering what its contents might be, I don't really blame her. Even with all the reenactors and cosplayers, you would be surprised how hard it is to find clothes from back then. Clothes now don't quite have the same feel, try as Mozu might to convince. They just don't. No Mozu, I will not go with you to a maid party! Wait. Forrest is having it. He's also providing outfits. Okay. Fine. I'll go.

"Professor."

Byleth's body swiveled around, finding it's way over to Edelgard. I guess she had been waiting for the pair to return.

"Yes, Edelgard?" Byleth remarked, the house leader's gaze on the folder. "I guess you want to know about our next assignment?"

A nod. Which in turn, got her a sigh from the professor. How the heck was she going to explain this? Did she just say it straight, hoping to god that Edelgard had some inkling of an idea what this 'Free Time of Hell' even was? Or was it better to dodge the question entirely.

"Correct." Edelgard continued, Byleth pulling the folder out and flipping it open. "Oh my. If it helps, you at least get to teach us first."

The words roll out of her mouth and Byleth froze. In between the folder and the box, she had managed to forget what she had been hired to do - to teach. Oops.

"Oh yeah…" Byleth started, gaze jumping between Edelgard and the box. "I'll get to thinking about that."

"Understood." Edelgard answered and headed off. Byleth let out a sigh the moment she was out of sight.

"Dodged a bullet there." Sothis remarked, 3DS now opened up. Dungeon music echoed from the speakers, with the sound of spells mixed in. So Byleth focused on the door and pushed it open. Makes one wonder why they can only be locked from the inside. I can think of a number of ways that can backfire on staff and/or students.

Inside, the apartment looked unchanged from how the pair left it. Bylwth brought the box on through, setting the other two outfits beside it.

"Now which one should I start with?"

She would need to unbox the princess dress first, then make sure that it fits right. She would need to do the same for the other two outfits to a lesser extent. So she turned her attention to Sothis. "Any preference?"

Sothis didn't look up from the 3DS. Not sure what the professor expected. Taking a deep breath, she grabbed the officer uniform and headed for the bathroom. Stripping down from her armor and setting it neatly on the floor, she got to fitting herself into the officer uniform. While not the worst outfit she had worn (that would go to the one time she and Jeralt tried to be tourists), this particular outfit was up there.

"What's this?"

Slipping her hand into the blouse's pocket, she found a pair of red glasses. No glass in the lenses. More for aesthetic than actually practical. For the moment at least, Byleth turned her attention to the mirror.

"I guess I can take a pic."

Digging her phone out of it's pocket, she took a pic. Then one more, just in case. Pretty obvious who this is going to.

_ProfessorByleth logged in. _

_ProfessorByleth posted two pics. _

_ProfessorByleth: Dorothea? _

_Dorothea logged in. _

_Dorothea: Yes? _

_Dorothea: Oh. Unless you're becoming a student teach, I would suggest that you stay away from that. _

_ProfessorByleth: Understood. _

_ProfessorByleth logged off. _

Byleth took a deep breath. Walking out of the bathroom, she grabbed the sports uniform. Judging by the faded red look and the antiquated symbol for the black eagles, this wasn't going to go any better. So she slipped out of the officer's uniform and into this strange relic of days gone by. Yeah, this is probably the worst of the three. Not entirely sure what Rhea was thinking here. While the temptation was there to snap a couple pics, it wasn't worth it.

Which left the large box outside the bathroom the final option.

"Here goes nothing." the professor thought, ripping at part of the tape. When that didn't work, thoughts of just using her sword came up. But considering how much of a beating it had taken in the previous fight, that was less than ideal. So Byleth continued to struggle with the tape for the next couple minutes, where she realized that there was a pair of scissors on the counter. Except they were in that stupid plastic that you need said scissors to get into. Like seriously, what kind of asshole made that decision? Absolutely stupid, I tell you.

But eventually, the box was open. Inside, was the princess dress ordered last week. I guess Oboro works fast. Especially now that she has both Forrest and Beruka work under her. Guess she had a debt to pay. Though, she's sharing her Camilla of all people. Which I can only imagine is quite a nightmare of a boss to work for. Oh right. The actual process to get the dress.

After dragging everything into the bathroom, she stripped down.

Corset came first, which tightened itself by way of magic. Stockings and dark blue heels followed, with a chemise (an undergarment similar to a babydoll) being next up to garb Byleth. Then came the hoop skirt. Much like the corset, this too tightened to her waist. Unlike the corset, it was a lot bigger than the professor was expecting. Looking down towards it, Byleth gave the metal a pet. Probably should've waited for the next part - the petticoat slip. Three layers of them, all blue. Then came the finishing touch - the dress. A beautiful dark blue, it went on right over the petticoats.

Staring into the mirror, Byleth let out as regal of a chuckle as she could manage.

"Princess Byleth takes the stage!" she announced, letting out a giggle after. The temptation of a photo was quite high. But the professor resisted the urge. This was her own private time. Princess time. Yeah. That would work nicely. So she walked out into the kitchen and fill a tea kettle with water. Watching it heat up, she got out some tea bags and heated up the water.

The results were less than ideal. Not entirely sure how Byleth managed that. A tea kettle is not supposed to explode on you. I can only wonder who did that.

Claude. It was definitely Claude.

.

"You wanted to see me?"

Marianne pushed the door back in.

She hadn't expected to be called into Rhea's office. Nor could she think of a reason to be called in.

"Yes, Marianne." Rhea explained, grabbing hold of the girl's hand. "We have much to talk about."

* * *

Notes:

A quick write. With even more Fates Salt. Sorry about that. Next one should hopefully have less of that to go around. Yay?

As for Marianne, I'll leave it up to you (the reader) what they talked about. While Rhea wants to help, who can really say with Marianne.

Next Time: We have our first lesson. Hopefully.


	3. The Education Shuffle

I don't own fire emblem.

Summary: Byleth tries to teach. It goes as well as you would think it would.

* * *

**Log 15: The Education Shuffle**

The weekend past blissfully for both Byleth and Sothis. While there was nothing in the way of retaliation to Claude or really actual work getting ready for classes, both our heroines were able to relax. That time was sadly over (for now), getting replaced by the workweek.

"Ugh…" Byleth muttered, carefully sitting up. Sliding out of bed, she scrambled to get into her armor. Turning to her nightstand, she found her phone and activated it. Awaiting her was two messages.

Jeralt: Best of luck on your first day of teaching. I believe in you, kiddo.

"Dad…" Byleth whispered, ignoring her red cheeks and instead focusing on the other message.'

Dorothea: Edelgard was supposed to send you this, but she had something come up. So it falls to me to send it.

With the message came one of those online cards. A simple one, gifted by her 'future' students. Everyone was accounted for, even a mysterious crossed out signature. From the resolution and picture quality, they appear to be a 'Sylvia'.

"Huh…" Byleth thought, giving the card one more look.

_ProfessorByleth logged in. _

ProfessorByleth: Thank you!

_Dorothea logged in. _

Dorothea: Your Welcome

_Dorothea logged out. _

_ProfessorByleth logged out. _

Slipping her phone into its compartment, Byleth headed over to the other bedroom. If the professor was lucky, she would find a certain someone already awake. Today was sadly not that day though. Sure, the 3DS had been left open and plugged in, but the user had fallen to the effects of a natural sleep spell.

"Wakey wakey." she cooed, giving Sothis a slight shake. A punch from her subject followed. Kind of rude.

"I'm up." Sothis muttered, scooping up her 3DS and slipping it somewhere safe. Having a piece of bread (buttered, of course), they head on out. The drone flight down to the classroom was actually pretty loud. Mostly by way of the people going about their day and what appeared to be Claude waving. Even had a smile to boot. The sort you wanted to rip off and stomp on for good measure. For now, Claude would get to keep his mouth.

"This is it." Byleth thought, the drone letting go as she reached the ground. She made a beeline for the Black Eagle Classroom, Sothis somehow managing to keep her eyes off the 3DS for more than five seconds to actually follow her guardian. Once inside, she made a mad dash for her desk. Well, she suspected it was her desk. Could be the place where the troublemakers are kept. "Sorry about this everyone. I didn't set my alarm up pr-"

Looking over her students, Byleth took a deep breath. Sothis took a corner, already in her 3DS. At least they were all here.

"Uh… I have no fucking clue on how to teach you guys." Byleth started, getting a chuckle from her students in return. "I might mess this up…"

"It's alright." Dorothea called out, making her way over to her teacher's desk. "If there's anything we can help you with, tell us."

Edelegard shot her classmate a glance. While she probably wanted to be the one who dispensed such information, she had other tasks at the moment.

"Linhardt!"

The sleepy mage straightened up, only to let his return to its resting place on Caspar's shoulder. Then she was back over to Bernadetta. While the archer actually looked alright, that had come after no less than two phone calls. A couple hours apart, they did much in the way of easing Bernadetta's nerves. But not in the way of actual sleep for both girls.

"You alright?"

Bernadetta focused on her girlfriend, giving a nod. Then we're back on Byleth for the moment, who managed to find a book of sorts. Pulling it open, she gave it a once over.

"Oh. I found some handouts." Byleth explained, pulling a set of papers out. Walking around the room, she passed the papers out. "Get working on this. There's no time limit."

Her students gave a nod, getting to work on this strange assignment. Of which I didn't even get to see. How rude. Though, you could've unleashed them on a nearby bandit-ridden fi-

"Done!"

Edelgard's hand went up. Then Dorothea's. Caspar and Hubert's followed suit. Ferdinand and Linhardt's were second to last. Which left Petra and Bernadetta.

"Here you go, teacher." Petra explained, attempting to throw it over. She was unsuccessful, with the paper managing to be swept up and out the door.

"Is this someone's paper?"

Thankfully, an angel managed to grab it and stepped on through. Appear to be that blonde haired girl Petra was waving at the other day. She looks nice enough. Which is all the more reason to be distrustful of her. Or something.

"Thank you, Mercedes!"

'Mercedes' gives a wave and Petra headed back for her seat. But not before handing off her paper to Byleth. After, the professor sat herself down at the desk. A couple minutes past, her gaze was back on her students.

"You all failed." Byleth explained, watching the stunned expressions of the Black Eagles appear. Taking a deep breath, she let her focus be on that of her book. "Though, actually expecting to pass is quite unlikely."

A fireball came her way. While not really destroying anything, it lacked much in the way 'oomph' or power behind it.

"Yeah. I definitely deserved that."

Focusing on Dorothea, the professor made her way over. Favoritism? No, she was the one who threw the stone after all. Makes sense that Byleth would start with her.

"While I admire your throwing arc Doro- Ms Arnault, you need to work on your throwing arc." the professor explained, making her way back over to the desk. Not without a set of red cheeks in the process. "In battle, a well-aimed throw could mean the difference between life and death."

Dorothea gave a nod, trying to hide her now red face. Nonetheless, she returned her gaze to Byleth. Who at the moment, was scribing down something.

"Teacher… _yawn _what are you writing?" Linhardt remarked, watching Byleth look up from her paper.

"Just your general stats." Byleth answered, setting aside a paper. Then another. Two papers became four, then eight. "There we go."

Picking up the pile, she made what was now her third trip around the classroom. You would think they wo- Never mind, that's a bad idea. Can't imagine any of them lasting that long. Once there all passed out, she stood in front of her desk.

"Now, I need to go to the library to grab some books. Who's up to that?"

Maybe out of reluctance to get out of here or forced, Bernadetta raised her hand. Dorothea did too, but that wasn't new.

"Okay." Byleth thought turning to Edelgard. "Can I trust you to keep everyone in line?"

Edelgard nodded.

"Of course, teacher." the house leader explained, watching the trio exit the classroom. Part of her wanted to kick herself. She should've been the one with Byleth. No matter, she could rebound from this some other day.

Notes:

One of the more interesting parts about 3H is that sometimes things don't quite make sense and you need to come up with a solution that sort of... does. This is the result.

Next Time: We switch over to Broken Bernadetta for her backstory. Yeah. It's going to be one of those logs.


	4. Why we can't have nice things

I don't own fire emblem.

Summary: Well that was quite a smash.

Recap of the previous Bernadetta segment: Basically, Count Varley is a very mean man who engages in both incest and rape. Among other awful things. Also, Nyx from Fire Emblem Fates is our main narrator.

* * *

**Log 17: Why we can't have nice things**

Thanks to the magic of 'alternate viewpoints', we come upon the classroom of the Black Eagles before it's leveled by some unknown threat.

At first, things seemed normal enough. Sothis was playing on her 3DS, Ferdinand and Hubert were chatting about something with Linhardt and Capar doing… something. As for Petra and Edelgard, they were twiddling their thumbs.

"This is boring!" Caspar announced, turning to Sothis for the moment. "You're the teacher's kid, you gotta know something!"

Sothis looked up from her 3DS. She wasn't entirely why this meathead of all people thought she had some clue of what to do. She sat right at the bottom of the totem pole when it came to these scholarly matters. Even then, her intelligence dwarfed most of them anyhow.

"What do you think?" she muttered, not even hiding her frustration in that moment. This was now the fifth attempt on this stupid knight boss. Switching to hard mode before the boss fight may have not been the best idea. But she would persevere. "If you want something to do, Go raid the Golden Deer classroom."

Definitely not the best suggestion to give to the one guy who loves a good scrap. Especially now that he was right in front of his boyfriend's desk.

"Hey Linhardt!" the brawler announced, grabbing hold of his sleepy companion. A slight shake followed. Though, I think you can see where this is going. "Let's go raid the Golden Deer Classroom!"

Linhardt looked towards Caspar, eyes still closed. Quite a heavy sleeper if I've ever seen one. Almost puts Mitama to shame. At least Linhardt doesn't have the stupid haiku speaking pattern.

Nonetheless, the two hobble their way over to the door.

"Where are you two going?" Hubert barked and watched Caspar turn around. What looks to be a knife comes out. Does get him a look from Ferdinand. Pretty good idea what he wanted to do there.

"We're going to go raid the Golden Deer Classroom!" Caspar announced and headed though, Linhardt pulled right along. Maybe he didn't want to go and raid them? Probably didn't think about that, did you.

Oh wait. He's already out the door. Not that he could even hear me in the first place. Probably shout back if he could.

"I'm going after them." Hubert announced, finding a hand on his back from a certain. Not going to mention any names - Ferdinand. Grabbing hold of said hand, the two make their way in the same direction as our two rambunctious teenagers. Which made Petra's decision to join them all the more confusing in that moment. Maybe she wanted to see what all was going on at the moment. Or perhaps she too had a grudge against the golden deer for whatever reason.

"Crud." Edelgard muttered, pulling her phone out.

_FlameEmperor logged in. _

FlameEmperor: Solon, are you there?

_Solon logged in. _

Solon: Yeah. What is it?

FlameEmperor: My friend is heading for the library. Could you please play it cool?

Solon: Is this about your girlfriend?

FlameEmperor: Solon!

Solon: What? She's going to find out eventually.

FlameEmperor: Yes, but that's a bridge I'm going to have to cross. Just make sure they get their books.

Solon: One problem.

FlameEmperor: What?

Solon: Bartholomew invited me to go drink last night and I woke up in the stables.

FlameEmperor: You Idiot!

Solon: As it turns out, he is quite a wonderful host. Even read me a nice bedtime story while I was inebriated.

Before Edelgard had a chance to respond to this utter incompetence at the moment, the room began to shake.

_Edelgard logged out. _

Getting up from her seat, Edelgard dashed over to her classroom entrance. There, she found Linhardt and Caspar duking it out with the beefcake of the Golden Deer. What was his name? I can't seem to recall it. Doesn't matter really, since it's really stalemate of Caspar punching the human equivalent of a brick wall. So we shift our metaphorical camera to the Golden Deer classroom itself. There, the trio of Hubert, Ferdinand and Petra are facing down the rest of the Golden Deer.

Huh. Was kind of expecting it to be different from the Black Eagle's. Though, I do think I can make out a doll in that white-haired girl's pocket. One of the princess sort, decked out in purple of all colors. Pink would've been a better choice. Unless the doll is changing it up for some reason.

"Marianne, could you please put the knife down?" Lysithea announced, a girl with blue hair putting it away.

"Yeah…" she whispered, getting ready for any healing that would need to be done. Or would've, if not for the spear pointing down at her. "Please don't kill me."

Ferdinand shook his head.

"I would never think of doing that." Ferdinand remarked, shooting his boyfriend a look. "I can't guarantee anything with Hubert though."  
Hubert just sighed.

"If Ferdinand Von Aegir gives his word, I will follow it." Hubert muttered, turning his attention to the rest of the Golden Deer. Another glance from Ferdinand brings that to an end for the moment.

"If this is a raid, what are raiding?" Petra announced, gaze focusing on Lysithea at the moment. "May I have your doll?"

Lysithea looked away, doll coming out. Don't really blame her feeling that way. Especially considering that this mess is technically Claude's fault on top of Sothis at the moment.

"You better take good care of her." the white haired girl remarked, glance now back on Petra for the moment. "I would suggest you get out of here."

Petra nodded, only to get

"Get out of here?" Petra remarked, not entirely sure what her target was really talking about at the moment. "Where exactly is here?"

Lysithea let out a sigh. She had forgotten this particular quirk of Petra. Though, the incoming charge of the human wall was more than enough to get the message - loud and clear. So did Hubert and Ferdinand. Caspar and Linhardt were thankfully still outside in that moment. Which just left Sothis and Edelgard in the Black Eagle's classroom…

.

Byleth let out a sigh.

"So do you know where Sothis is, by any chance?" the professor remarked, watching a cloud of dust form just behind Edelgard. Out popped a familiar green-haired girl. Definitely pissed. 3DS looked to be intact though. Which is all that really matters in this moment.

"Sorry about this, Edelgard." Bernadetta mouthed and got a head shake from Edelgard in return. She gave the house leader a look, kneeling down to be on her level.

"If anything, this is more Sothis's fault." Edelgard remarked, getting a shrug from Sothis in return. Guess that means class is off for the rest of the week? Or they'll need to find someplace else.

* * *

Notes:

This wasn't so bad. Yes, this does mean that class will be held elsewhere. Where, you'll have to wait and see.

Next Time: The free time from hell. Oh boy.


	5. FTFH 1 - Probably don't do that

I don't own fire emblem.

Summary: Our free time begins with some sequence breaking. And an Amiibo.

* * *

**Log 18:** **Probably shouldn't have done that**

The rest of the week was surprisingly mellow. Sure, most of Byleth's students had to spend it in detention, but that's the price you pay for raiding another classroom.

"Wakey wakey."

Byleth's eyelids sprung open. Sothis stood before her, 3DS closed for the moment.

"What do you need, Sothis?" the professor greeted, sitting herself up and focused on her child.

"I was told to wake you up." Sothis answered, Byleth bolting right out of her bed and into the bathroom. "Something about you getting started early on this."

Byleth walked back out, now adorned in her armor. Attention back on Sothis, she motioned for her to follow.

"You coming with me this time?" she remarked, getting a shrug. Followed by the child holding up the 3DS. "I'll take that as a yes then?"

Sothis short her guardian a look. Why did she have to be so dense at times? This wasn't rocket science. Just having a day off. Except this was the supposed 'day-off from hell' or whatever it was supposed to be called. Byleth grabbed the amiibo she bought off Anna and dropped two pastries into the toaster. Good enough of a breakfast for today. Next time, eggs and bacon. Maybe. Depended on her getting up early enough to get that all made before heading out.

Nonetheless, the pastries shot up and she grabbed hold. Handing one off to Sothis, they head out the door. Which locked on them.

professor and child headed out the door. Outside, was Jeralt of all people. Decked out in his armor, he seemed… content.

"Hey. Been a while." Jeralt greeted, getting a nod from his daughter. "How has it been going?"

Byleth looked away. She had no way to really gauge how much of Monday's incident reached him. Considering how much damage Raphael had caused, it was almost a guarantee that her father had heard about it.

"Outside of Bernadetta's personal mess and not having a classroom at the moment, quite great." the professor answered and got a chuckle in return. Not the answer I was expecting. Though, maybe that's the result of Corrin.

"That's good to hear." her father remarked, digging into his pockets. He came up empty. "I need you to go to my office and grab the tactics primer."

Byleth nodded, waiting for her father to go. He didn't. So she took a deep breath and brought her map out. She pointed to the mess hall, drone coming on down for both her and Sothis.

"Ow." Sothis muttered, not all happy with where her drone grabbed her. Not that Byleth was paying attention at the moment. No, she was more focused on looking around the monastery. The city surrounding around it shined brightly. Maybe some other day, she could go and check it out.

"That looks like the place." she whispered, the drones landing down at the mess hall. But that isn't where Byleth goes at the moment. No, she was on her way to that strange shrine thing. Sothis followed right behind. Still not on her 3DS though.

"Did you beat the knight?" Byleth remarked, getting a nod in return. After, Sothis pumped her chest out. More cute than boasting. Especially since was right back to playing on the device at the moment. So Byleth began her walk toward her destination. She did make sure that her companion was keeping up. Sothis was. Somehow.

"So why are we coming over here, exactly?"

Byleth didn't answer, digging out the Lucina amiibo as what looked to be a capsule machine came into view. That can't be right. My notes say that the thing should be a gazebo. This must be some strange result of that weird time rewind thing you did a while back. Has to be.

Though, there does appear to include a spot for the amiibo. Byleth made her way over, sliding the statuette in. A slight twist followed, more green spheres appearing on the ground. Uh… okay. Lots of tea and these weird 'seal' things. Might need to check into that.

**You may now play play Conquest (Ablaze) in your head whenever you want!**

Uh, how the hell is that a benefit? Sure, have a tune stuck in your head is a double-edged sword and all. But I feel like having so-

A hatch opened under the pair's feet, dropping them into a small fenced off balcony. Except, there was a second Sothis standing motionless.

"Sothis, you still here?" Byleth remarked, getting a pinch from the child as she pulled her over. A groan followed.

"Yes." Sothis muttered, her guardian's attention shifting back to this strange enigma for the moment. "So, have anything to say for yourself other-me?"

The other Sothis didn't answer. Instead, she just stared at the pair. Guess this is a regular occurence.

"It is not quite time yet." the other Sothis finally announced, not even breaking her gaze as Byleth scooped up more of these strange orbs. I guess those are supposed to be capsules? Sure. That's what I'm calling them from now on. Lot of the same and all. Just one small problem. There isn't a real way to get out of here. Outside of taking a leap of faith down to the mausoleum below. So our heroine motioned for her 'child' to come over.

"I need you to hold on." she whispered, feeling Sothis jump aboard her back for the moment. Byleth then made her way towards the edge of this strange balcony and jumped. Free falling down, she somehow managed to stick the landing. Even if her whole did now feel like it got punched a few dozen times in the process.

"You alright?" Sothis whispered, getting a thumbs up. Her gaze shifted away, only for feelings of dread to invade her mind. Something about the coffin at the far end of the room seemed to both call out to her and yet, go out of its inanimate way to keep her at bay. Somehow. Pretty sure that's a double negative going on here. "Uh… could you check out that coffin over there?"

Her guardian nodded, not even batting an eye when Sothis returned to the 3DS once more. Nonetheless, Byleth made her way over to the coffin. Tipping the lid forward slightly, she did a double take.

A strange sword sat in the coffin, the only sign of someone's existence. Okay, maybe not.

You have found yourself the sword of the creator! Might want to keep that a secret for now.

Thanks obnoxious subtitles. Being real helpful here.

"Is this what's freaking you out?" Byleth remarked, holding the sword up. Sothis's gaze shifted away from the 3DS for about a second and froze.

'You look quite a catch.'

The sound of a blade piercing through her stomach echoed through her mind, memories of that day running on repeat in her mind. It hurt just a little bit more each time. Reminding her of what had been.

"Sothis?"

Her gaze snapped over to Byleth, her mind set at ease. The pain still remained though as she was picked back up.

"I'm alright…" Sothis muttered, accepting the gesture. They headed for the exit, taking the stairs two at a time till they reached the top.

* * *

Notes:

Yes, Byleth has the sword of the creator now. She's not going to use it at the moment, but it's on her.


	6. FTFH 2 - The Pants Situation

I don't own fire emblem.

Summary: Byleth does a couple little things and one big thing. Can't you feel the love though?

* * *

**Log 19: The 'Pants' Situation**

"Let me get this straight." Alois remarked, unsure of how to really react. "You two got buried in the mausoleum?"

In retrospect, the slap that followed for such an awful joke was quite justified. Except for the fact that he did have a point in that moment. You two just stole a possibly valuable artifact and just think you'll get off scot free? Ha!

"Yeah. You also have an infestation by way of one green-haired goblin." Byleth added, getting a look from Sothis. A chuckle was all she got in return. "Might want to have someone check that out."

Alois shot the pair a look, shrugging as Byleth and Sothis headed off. Didn't get too far though. Mostly because another one of the academy's old ladies waved Byleth down.

"Ms Eisner, could you do me a favor?" she called out, Byleth coming to a stop. Turning around, the professor walked back over.

"Uh… sure." she remarked, finding a stack of flyers in her hands. Simple in design, just a cyan background with musical note-shaped letters. A little singer (a songstress perhaps?) sings all alone, with spots for other members to boot. "Any place in particular?"

The quest giver looked away, map coming out. Never good. Prepare for the worse, Byleth. This could go just about anywhere.

"I would like you to check this out with your students."

Huh… not quite what I was expecting here. Oh well. Least they can fast travel back over when they get the chance. Does help that the dorms aren't that far away. Either option could work here.

"We'll make it happen." Byleth explained, Sothis copying her for the moment. Their map comes on out, a quick point to the apartments following. Of course, things weren't that simple. Mostly because both of our heroines have just slammed into the gate of the church itself. Which, Ow. That had to have left a mark.

"Let me heal you." a voice announced, a blue-haired girl making her way over. Once there, she holds her hands over them. Doesn't explain the scars on the wrists. The service offered is second-to-none.

"Thank you." Byleth remarked, getting a nod from the girl as the door pulled up. The drones headed off once more, delivering our pair at the apartments. "Now what?"

Bending down, an already signed sheet awaited the pair. Kind of makes this errand irrelevant. "Huh."

Taking a deep breath, the professor picked up the paper. Which came right as her phone went off. Pulling the device out, she had to do a double take - Petra. While sure, she seemed to be the least technologically savvy of her students, but here she was manning a phone.

"Yes, Petra?" she announced, waiting for a response on the other end. Though, she did catch a bit of Mercedes.

"Oh Professor!" Petra answered, taking a deep breath. "How do I give someone my number?"  
Byleth took a deep breath. Not quite the question she had expected to be asked in this moment. Probably something involving a far more nefarious word and/or phrase.

"Go to you contacts and click the one labeled 'Petra'." Byleth explained, shooting Sothis a look. While she was snickering at the moment, that promptly came to a stop. Though, I sometimes can't operate a 'smartphone' to save my life either. Guess that puts me in the same boat as Petra here. Kinda.

"Oh…. That's how it works." Petra answered, the sound of a slight head pat echoing through the phone. "Thank you!"

Byleth hung up, letting out a deep breath right after. That had gone a heck of a lot better then she was expecting it to go. Hopefully, she had gotten the message.

Slipping the phone back into her pocket, we find ourselves at an impasse. On one hand, our pair could go right back to the choir lady and hand in the sign-in sheet. Or they cou-

Our heroine made her decision, heading right down the line of the apartments until she came to one in particular.

"Bernadetta?" she greeted, knocking on the door. The person on the other side shifted about, almost tripping on something.

"Uh… no one's here!" Bernadetta announced, what sounded like papers falling over following her statement for the moment. She at least doing better. But that's more subjective observation when you have a door between both people and can't really see them. "Though, Dorothea was air-drying her laundry. Maybe you can go help her with that?"

Cheeks turning red, Byleth was already heading off. Should've asked where she even was in the first place. Or how a large stuffed bear managed to find its way out of her pockets. Sothis grabbed it. Did mean putting up her 3DS for the moment.

"Stupid time mage." she muttered, trying her best to keep up with her guardian at the moment. Which wasn't so easy with the large weighted bear in her arms. Could be counterbalanced by being able to float.

Thankfully, Dorothea wasn't that hard to find.

"Professor!" she greeted, looking all about as Byleth approached. "You've seemed to have caught me at a less than ideal time."

Byleth gave her a confused look, providing more than enough time for Sothis to catch up and deposit the teddy bear on the ground.

"Is this for me?"

Byleth nodded, cheeks on fire. She didn't even know how the heck that bear got into her pockets in the first place. Ghosts. Though, that little box with Dorothea's face and the hearts is an… interesting touch. Kind of obnoxious touch.

"So what seems to be the problem at the moment?" the professor inquired, her 'girlfriend' taking a deep breath.

"While I was drying my 'pants', a pair got caught by the wind and were blown off." Dorothea continued, bear now in her skirt. Laws of physics definitely getting violated here in ways you wouldn't believe at the moment. "Do you think you could help me… find them."

Byleth's face went even redder, little in the way of hiding it for the moment. As requests went, this was a new one.

"Sure." she answered, getting a look from Sothis in return. "Do you have any idea where they may have flew off too?"

Dorothea nodded, grabbing hold of Byleth's hand and pulling her along. Sothis kept up with them, mostly so they wouldn't do anything nefarious. Just in case, even if such a possibility was highly unlikely.

"It was probably somewhere around here." the singer explained, gaze circling all about at the moment.

"Have you looked in there?" Byleth inquired, pointing to a nearby doorway. Dorothea shook her head. "Do you want to come with me?"

A nod and the pair made their way over, pushing the door open. Inside, the place looked to be some kind of miniature arena. Which brought with it, Caspar and *sigh* Claude.

"What can I do for you?" Claude remarked, the titular pants in hand. I think you can see where this is going. "Oh. Are these your girlfriend's?"

"Yes." Byleth remarked, getting a look from Dorothea in that moment. With her focus solely on the house leader for the Golden Deer, she hadn't noticed that look. "Could I have them back, please."

A smile formed on Claude's face. Yet, the goods were handed over.

"I wouldn't get too comfortable." he remarked as he walked away. Seemed to be humming a tune I don't quite recognize. "Might want to gaze out on the stars tonight."

Okay…

Nonetheless, Byleth handed over the 'pants' to her girlfriend.

"Thank you." Dorothea whispered, cheeks as bright as peaches for the moment. So she headed on her merry way. Which left our pair with Caspar for the moment.

"Need anything?" the professor remarked and got a shrug in return. Onward then.

* * *

Notes:

'Pants' is british slang for underwear. Yes. And to answer the question of what are pants called there, 'trousers'. Which personally, I would switch around. but that's just me.


	7. FTFH 3 - A view of the stars

I don't own fire emblem.

Summary: In which we finish off the free time from hell. Thank god.

* * *

**Log 20: A view of the stars**

Thankfully, the walk back to the church part of the monastery was surprisingly quick. Even for the standards of our heroines. I guess they used up all their encounters earlier. Hopefully. Never can be sure when it comes to that.

This time, the gate didn't slam into them. Which I guess is progress to some extent for what I can only hope is an isolated incident and not worse - the start of a cruddy running gag that happens with no real explanation.

"Here's your sheet." Byleth explained and handed over the sheet to the choir instructor. Which begs the question of why Manuela isn't helping in the first place. She would be perfect for such a role. Maybe. Haven't seen enough of her to really tell.

"Would you like to do some choir practice?"

Byleth froze, only for Dorothea and Mercedes to walk on up. Quite a pair to show up. Especially since one of them was heading in the exact opposite direction at the moment. I guess they both heard the possibility of some singing and went to check it out? Yeah, has to be it.

"Uh… Sure." Byleth remarked, finding herself get pulled along. She shot Sothis a glance, but it would seem that she wasn't looking so happy.

"Mrgrgr…" Sothis muttered, closing the lid of the 3DS. What was with that thief dude being such a pain? Sure, she was still playing on 'Hard' for the moment, Even if the only difference is the difficulty of the foes themselves. So the child focused on the little show on full effect here. She could see why someone like her guardian would be so interested in Dorothea. She had a voice of an angel and a throwing arm of a demon.

Quite a combination in the right circumstances. In this moment, it looked as if the opera singer was holding back to an extent. As if not to let her voice overpower her companions to an extent.

**Your bond has strengthened and you gain faith experience!**

"Go away, you stupid pop-up!" Byleth announced, gaze now focusing in on the float bar of text. Dorothea and Mercedes were doing the same, though they had gone the path of digging out a stone of their own and chucking it at this strange target. While damage was definitely done, it was not enough to dispel the words. So they waited.

After a couple of seconds, the letters faded away. The trio let out a sigh of relief, with Dorothea and Mercedes heading off in separate directions.

Which leaves just Byleth and Sothis alone once more. Map coming out once more, we seem to be off to the mess hall. Again.

This time, our heroines are actually going in. Took them long enough.

"Professor!"

Turning around, Byleth found herself face-to-face with a red-haired man. Dressed in the academy uniform, he had that look to him. The sort that Laslow. Peri would put him in his place, especially when he was coming down on Mozu. She already had enough problems without the romantic lines with a consistency of a dead fish. Oh. My wife just told me that I didn't need to remind her. Sorry dear. Not my intention. Guess Laslow saw something in Peri then up and walked out on her. So she tracked him back down and dragged his ass back to Nohr. Which to be fair, he probably should've told her that he wasn't from Nohr in the first place. Oops.

Back with our heroine, she was waiting for the inevitable response.

"Do you need something from me?" Byleth inquired, a smile forming on the man's face. So she took a step back, hand on her sword. Just in case.

"I'm Sylvain." the man explained, flashing his perfect white smile towards Byleth. Looks kind of artificial. Definitely don't trust him. "Can I just your house?"

Wait. What? You can just walk up to a house's teacher and just ask nicely? I get that this school has no clue how the fuck to run a school but this is just silly. Sure, the nobles of Hoshido and Nohr had to be convinced to join Corrin and Azura, but that involved a bunch of logistics and counterintelligence on top of just scheduling the transfer of troops in the first place. This flies in the fact of all logic! What kind of peo-

Mozu here. Nyx needed to take a break. So you get me narrating what is hopefully the last part of this freetime. Yes, we're ready to be done as much as you.

Back with Byleth, she just shook her head.

"Not interested." the professor explained, heading over to the old lady manning the side counter. Sylvain just stared. His plan had been foolproof. Foolproof! How the hell had it failed? One can only wonder why. "Need me to do anything?"

The old lady just chuckled and focusing on Byleth for the moment. Then a deep breath. What's it going to be this time? "More books."

Oh. That's nice, I guess. Was kind of hoping for something else. But whatever works for you. I guess Claude stole some more then?

Byleth let out a sigh, grabbing Sothis in the process. After the strange encounter with Sylvain, it was probably best to keep her close. That way, he was unable to do anything rash. Probably for the best in this moment

"Mgrgrgrgr…" she muttered, drones already coming down as Sylvain looked their way. "Your first mistake was assuming that we know you."

With that, the drones grabbed hold and our pair was on their merry way. Thankfully, Sylvain didn't follow them to the library. Which looked exactly the same as the last time they had needed to come here. Okay, Linhardt was here. Slumbering in a book. Might want to get that checked out. Maybe go to bed earlier. Anything to keep a good sleep schedule.

As for the books they needed, those had been thrown about. Nor was there any sign of the librarian.

"Why hello there, prey."

Turning around, we come upon a kind old man. With a large knife. Yeah. I take that first part back. He's probably evil or something.

"Hi?" Byleth greeted, hand back on her sword. Mind you, her current sword. Not the one that she stole from some tomb. That would be suspicious and nefarious or something.

"I'm Tomas." the man explained, heading off to the corner to I don't know, scheme. Which just leaves the task of scooping up the books and ignoring this strange man's gaze. A task that was surprisingly easy in this situation. "Have a pleasant day!"

Sure they will. If not for the fact that the day is almost over and stuff. Just need to get the tactics primer and all will be good.

"Just a little bit more." Byleth thought, exiting the library and heading for the hallway. Sothis followed right behind. Thankfully, her father had left it right on the floor.

"I'm guessing that's the last task you needed to complete?" Sothis inquired, getting a nod from her guardian in return as they headed back to the dining hall. There, Byleth deposited the books and gave little in the way of eye contact to Sylvain.

"I'll try out self cooking some other day." the professor explained, more than ready to end this day. Pulling out the map one more time, they were off to their personal apartment. "Uh… why is all our furniture littering the lawn?"

If I have to take a guess, that would be Claude.

Back on solid ground, Byleth muttered something to herself. It was going to be a long night.

* * *

Notes:

Second free time down. Phew. We're getting there (at the time of writing this, at least).

Next Time: Dorothea's backstory.


	8. Opera Girl in a Material World

I don't own fire emblem.

Summary: Byleth gets to know Dorothea and tries to fix her apartment. At least one of those things is accomplished here. You can probably guess which.

* * *

**Log 21:** **Opera Girl in a Material World**

As pranks go, dumping someone's furniture out of their apartment and onto the ground below sits solely outside of it.

"When I get my hands on him…" Byleth muttered, pulling the bed slightly closer to her goal. She had let Sothis remain on her 3DS. Mostly because a lot of the furniture was stuff she could handle on her own. At least her princess dress remained untouched. "He ain't going to have a house."

Of course, that was more of a thought than an actual threat. Sure, she was pissed out of her mind as a result of this tomfoolery on the part of the Golden Deer's house leader. But she was in no place to really go that far at the moment. Considering how nonsensical this school handles everything in relation to being a school, he'll probably get off with a slap on the wrist. Then he'll go off and do something stupid again.

"Professor?"

Byleth turned around, finding Dorothea of all people standing before her. Still dressed in her officer uniform, she was probably heading for bed. Or a nap. Possibly both, with one leading into the other in some fashion.

"Yes, Dorothea?" she inquired, watching the opera singer examine the scene in front of her. So far, Byleth had managed to only move a couple of small things - a lamp, the microwave and a couple of books she hadn't gotten to looking through quite yet. Even then, that had been to the landing of the stairs. She still had quite a long way to get to her apartment.

Drones had seemed like a viable option, but those seemed more suited for people than actual cargo sadly. Probably some law against doing such an activity.

"Do you need some help?" Dorothea remarked, a nod being her answer. Probably could've started without the response, but you know. Especially with the next question that's bound to come out.

"Claude did this." Byleth explained, blade falling to the ground. Not her main blade, but the stolen one. Because of course it did. "Uh, I can explain."

The look from Dorothea said it all in. In retrospect, maybe should've stashed that way somewhere safe. And I don't know, maybe not carry it around on your person? Like a smart person and not I don't know, like a dumb horny teenager.

"We got it from a tomb." Sothis announced, Dorothea's gaze on her for the moment. "We got stuck in a mausoleum, okay?"

Dorothea was back on Byleth for the moment. The nod confirms it, even if it does sound absolutely crazy. After, she took a deep breath of her own.

"Guess that means I need to tell a secret of my own in exchange." the opera singer continued, smile on her face. "Nothing as bad as Bernadetta, of course."

Byleth nodded, watching her girlfriend clear her throat.

.

A girl takes a deep breath.

The streets of Embarr are by no means the nicest place, let alone during the cold winter months. But here she was, freezing her butt off. Warmth was a luxury at best,

"When will this cold come to an end?" she sings, going about her day. The song was all she really had, outside of the clothes on her back. At times, it felt as those she was in the middle ages. Not modern day. "When will the sun come out to shine?"

This had been her routine. Didn't matter the weather or the time of day really. She would be out there - singing her heart out. Always the same song, never really changing. Self-written, but could use a bit of work.

"Hey!"

The girl turns around, camera pointed her way. It's on, so probably just some amateur filmmakers. Just one in this case. That couldn't be. Does look kind of buzzed for the moment. Which might explain what's going on.

"Yes?" she greets and flashes her best smile. The woman kneels down, trying her best to be on her level. The execution is less than stellar. Points for trying. No. Should've asked before he began filming her in the first place. Unless the empire doesn't believe in that stuff. Which is quite scary. Least it does here. Well, we think at least.

"I heard you singing." the woman explains and flipped the camera around. Doing some sort of techno wizardry, a show of her singing plays on the tiny screen. You can sort of see her here. But not really. "I'm a scout for the Mittelfrank Opera youtube channel. We were interested in your singing abilities."

When you have nothing to gain, you'll take anything you can get.

"Sure." the girl answered, taking hold of the woman's hand. This woman - Maneula, she would come to see as her mentor and to some extent, mother.

But a woman of her caliber couldn't be a songstress forever. Unless you're Azura or something. I digress.

"Will you serve as my sponsor?" the girl remarks, her audience a man far older than she is. Taken quite a bit of work to get her. One or two situations that she doubts Manuela would be proud of.

But what she didn't know wouldn't kill her. Especially when the letter came in a month later. She had done it, somehow.

"That's how I came to the academy." Dorothea finished, getting a look from Byleth. Sure, they were no less closer to the goal of getting her furniture back to the apartment, but she now knew her possible girlfriend just a little bit more under the moonlit sky.

Which was good enough.

* * *

Notes:

Yes, this is far less graphic than Bernadetta's backstory. Goes without saying though.

Next Time: We have a possible lecture and the news of our battle.


	9. Hungover with a side of Lecturing

I don't own fire emblem.

Summary: Manuela tries her best to keep it together. Life has other plans.

The following log does include non-sexual age play. If that

* * *

Log 22: **Hungover with a side of Lecturing**

Manuela stared into the mirror.

That screwdriver the bartender had served her was not only awfully mixed, but was highly unlikely to be a screwdriver in the first place. Probably something lighter for the time that it probably was when she was served.

At least she looked kind of cute after a couple of drinks. Normally, uniforms weren't her cup of tea. But there was something about the way those curves hung on so nicely. Even when closing time did inevitably come around, she was nice enough to call a cab for her and wait till they arrived.

Yet, she shook her head. What the hell was she thinking? She was straight. Okay, maybe she had brought home a woman by accident and/or had been set up with the masculine woman that her girl friends would try to get her to try. Sure some of her students had come out. But she was in her mid thirties. There had to be some guy who had a taste for someone like her. Yet as her gaze fell upon her vanity, the songstress did a double take.

_If you need a pick me up, I'm always there for you. -Cherry _

Part of Manuela wanted to toss the note out and pay it no mind. But when her hand reached out for the note, apprehension formed within her mind. She couldn't bring herself to get rid of it.

So Manuela did the natural thing - slip this random shard of paper into her vanity's mirror. The hangover still hung tightly in her head, but there was something she needed to do before getting to today's lecture.

"I'm coming baby." she whispered, digging her map out and pointing towards the second floor apartments. While it took some finagling, the drone did eventually grab hold. The drones are quite impressive technology - a far cry from the usual forms of transportation that Mittlefank would employ. Not that this was a bad thing. Kind of expected with the size of the academy in the first place.

Nonetheless, she did her best to sneak her way over to her destination. Twisting the knob, she headed though.

Inside, the apartment had been decked out like some princess's wonderland. Dolls decked out in dresses with the frilliest, poofiest dresses have been scattered about mixed with baby dolls and other girly toys.

"Lysithea darling, Mommy is here!" she announced, the pitter-patter of little steps echoing out from the bedroom and into the living room. The girl standing before was dressed in an oversized onesie, the sort usually reserved for young children. A doll is cradled in her arms, not quite the one she wanted, but that's a problem to be solved some other time. Especially with the pacifier she was sucking on for the moment. "How are you feeling?"

Lysithea looked to her 'mommy'. A sigh followed as the pacifier came out. Looks to be hanging from a string of some kind. Mittens are a nice touch.

"I slept alright, mommy." Lysithea cooed and got a deep breath right after. "You're just checking in on me. Aren't you?"

Manuela looked away.

Lysithea had been the one to suggest this unorthodox treatment. Mental, over physical. Therapy of some kind she had said it would be. Something about her just being lucky to even be moving about. Let alone in five to six years. Though, her medical experience couldn't quite corroborate such information. Which made it all the more worrying to an extent. But she trusted her pupil at the moment. That was what trust was made from, after all.

"Lecture today. Something about Byleth."

Lysithea's face went red, doll falling to the ground. What appears to be dark spikes begins charging up. So carefully, Manuela grabbed hold of the dark mage's hand. She hated doing this to her of all people. Anyone else, she found fair game. Hangover or not. Yet, part of her pitied this strange girl. Sometimes, she saw a younger version of herself within.

"Now, now, Byleth wasn't even there." the songstress explained, the dark spikes disappearing for the moment. "Even if she was, I doubt it would be her idea in the first place."

Her pupil looked away, a baby bottle getting handed off from the counter and into their hands.

"Just come back right after." she muttered, getting a nod from Manuela as she headed for the door.

The lecture was just that. A lecture.

Byleth was seated up front, Dorothea right beside him. Claude is there as well. Which means it takes every ounce of focus in Manuela to hold herself together.

"Ugh…" she thought, pointing stick at the ready. "Welcome to this mandatory lecture. I'm not entirely sure why we need to do such a thing, but here we are."

Claude let out a chuckle.

"Can we leave then?" the golden deer house leader remarked, getting a look from Byleth in return. Even more so when Manuela walked over and slapped her stick against the desk in what was still pretty much an open area. Permits still hadn't come in for rebuilding the classrooms, which made this all the more difficult.

"You have another half hour." Manuela barked, realizing that meant she too had to deal with this mess for another thirty minutes. Which is less than ideal. Sure, playing with Lysithea was a reward in itself. But still.

"Hey!"

Of course, Claude had to throw an eraser Byleth's way. Which in turn, got a fireball from Dorothea. I think you can see where this is going.

"Enough!"

Slamming her stick into her table, all eyes return to her.

"I expect you all to be on your best behavior. No matter what has happened in the past." she barked, nods being all she gets at the moment.

* * *

Notes:

While not said, Byleth is still in the process of getting her apartment back together.

Next time: Some lecturing and news of a possible mock battle.


	10. Breaking the news or not

I don't own fire emblem.

Summary: In which we limp over to the second-to-last forced activities of Chapter 2. Or have a complete change of plans. Works for me.

* * *

**Log 23:** **Breaking the news or not...**

Byleth took a deep breath.

The last of her furniture had just been finally put away in the apartment. By no means that educational or really beneficial to furthering her student's skills. Okay, maybe Caspar and to some extent Petra when she wasn't asking a question in regards to a term or phrase. Everyone else was getting their PE credit. Yeah. That's what I'm going with for now.

"Thanks for your help, everyone." she explained, getting eight sets of nods. While they still had a couple days before their first class 'assignment', that was to be used in or-

Byleth's phone then went off.

Slipping it out of her secret spot, the professor gave it a look. A deep breath followed. Could've at least showed it to me. That way I have some clue on what's going on. But no, you couldn't be a nice young lady for someone who's a couple centuries older than you.

"Tomorrow, we're going down to the forest and have a mock battle with some of the Knights of Seiros."

Judging by the confused glances of her students, you probably should've left that part out. The raising of hands followed. So Byleth scanned her crowd of students, pointing towards Hubert to start out with. Oh dear. You sure about this?

"What weapons will we be using?" the retainer remarked, a look from Ferdinand following his question. So he focused in on his boyfriend for the moment. For all the things that he liked about Ferdinand, neither quite saw eye-to-eye on the other's methods. Sure, there was a time and place for chivalry and honor. But on this close precipice, with war breaking out at any moment, sometimes underhandedness was a necessary evil. But they were willing to agree to disagree on this issue. Even then, he did have a point. The choice of weapons - whether that be the practice weapons or the iron weapons they were allowed to use for the moment. Or at least till they were considered trustworthy enough to use steel or even silver weapons. Probably one of the first two.

"Uh… it didn't say what to bring." Byleth explained, gaze returning to the hands up before her. So she pointed towards Bernadetta.

The archer was currently fidgeting about, as if to get out of her clothes and into something more comfortable. Or perhaps more 'appropriate' - even if that was up to debate what that really meant. Her eyes glazed over, a smile lazily hanging in place. Bernadetta, you still in there?

A chuckle followed. While trying to sounding older than she was, it was still clear that this was a housewife moment. Oh boy.

"Ms Eisner, does this mean that we might have to kill someone in the future?" Bernadetta inquired, shoes shaking about. She's not going to really st-

The shoes came out, followed by the socks. Oh god, this isn't good. Yet, Edelgard grabbed hold of her body and began to squeeze. "I just want to take care of someone in the comfort of their home, not be out getting di-"

Edelgard's grip tightened around Bernadetta's waist. Emulating a pro wrestler, she pulled herself and Bernadetta to the ground. Ow.

The smile faded away from the archer's face, even if it did take a couple of seconds for the archer to register what had just happened. Especially when she realized that Edelgard was still bear hugging at her moment. Letting go, both girls get up. A bit of dusting off later, their attention returned to Byleth.

"S-s-sorry about that, professor." she whispered and Byleth stepping forward. Rubbing the archer's head, a deep breath followed.

"It's alright, Bernadetta." the professor explained and returned to her position.

Getting a nod, her gaze returned to the remaining hands. Though, there just seemed to be one more at the moment - Petra.

"If this is a mock battle, what exactly are we mocking?" the princess remarked, Byleth falling over.

"We're mocking no one." Dorothea explained, focus on Petra for the moment. "We're just practicing tactics in an environment where no can get majorly hurt."

Her explanation seemed to confuse the princess even more. Which was definitely not the intention here. Far from it in fact.

"Got it." Petra remarked and focused on Byleth. "Is there anything else?"

Byleth shook her head.

"You're all free to go." the professor explained and the group scattered, with Byleth in particular heading upstairs.

.

Of course, a certain someone got an idea. A bad idea. But if this is all works out, they wouldn't need to worry about those bandits.

"Come on, Linhardt." this mysterious person announced, pulling along his sleepy buddy. Their target was an absolutely divine mustang - property of Mercedes. Yeah. Who would think that her of all people would be into muscle cars. Especially something so old-school. Of course with something so old, the security wasn't up to snuff.

"There we go." he remarked, only for the sound of whistling to ring out. Turning around, we have ourselves a Claude. Oh for fuck sake. Can you please keep your ass out of this?"

"Where are you two going?"

Our mystery figure looked away.

"Zanado." they remark, propping Linhardt back up. "You're not going to try and stop me, right?"

Claude let out a chuckle.

"Of course not, Caspar." the golden deer house leader announced, dropping what appear to be the key to the mustang. Of course the fucker has the keys. Fuck.

The three get in, Caspar taking the driver seat. Revving the engine up, the trio head off.

* * *

Notes:

There was a scrapped idea for Petra and Mercedes going to a store and buying nerf guns. It never got off the drawing board, because it added more parts. Which at this point

Next time: Byleth and crew finding out about dumbhead's latest escapade. At 2am. Because of course that's when they find out.


	11. Play stupid games, win stupid prizes

I don't own fire emblem.

Summary: It's 2am and things sure as fuck aren't alright.

* * *

**Log 24: Play Stupid Games, Win Stupid Prizes**

2 am.

If Petra's tropical alarm clock (a gift from Edelgard) was anything to go by, that was when the knocking occurred.

"Coming!" Petra announced, scrambling out of her bed and over to the door. In her sleep deprived state, that was a task that resulted in tripping about her own two feet and coming within inches of slamming into the door itself. Did get her sword in the process, so there's that.

Nonetheless, she stood back up and pulled the door open.

Mercedes stood on the other side, decked out in her pajamas. Well, Petra thought they were pajamas at least. Not that I can think of any pairs that are made of leather. Or is that latex? In this light, hard to tell. Better yet, I don't think you're supposed to take a whip to bed with you. Unless… Yeah. She's one of those kinds of people. Not that I or Mozu have a problem with that. Just keep that stuff private.

"How can I help you?" Petra inquired, a frustrated groan exiting Mercedes's mouth. That's not good.

"Your friend Caspar took one of my cars." the church lady growled and grabbed Petra's hand, pulling her out of the room. Thankfully, the door closed behind them in the process. "That idiot managed to crash it too."

Petra understood the words that had exited her 'girlfriend's' mouth, but they didn't quite register initially.

"Wait. You have cars?" she remarked, getting a deep breath in return. A head pat came right after. Probably not the best way to answer. But considering it's like 2am at the moment, this can pass as good enough.

"I'm 21." Mercedes explained, fishing out what appeared to be a driver's license and showed it to Petra. "The car in question was one of the few gifts from father."

Judging by the confused look the church lady was getting, someone had herself a question.

"Why do you need to question the car?" Petra inquired, getting no answer from Mercedes. She probably had never

"Find it." Mercedes remarked, heading down the walkway. "Sorry about waking you up at this hour."

Petra looked away. Sure, she would've preferred to get a full night's sleep. But if Caspar was in trouble, that was worth fighting for. Though, that also brought with it a high likelihood that Linhardt was with him. Sure, the two got along well and all, but the scholar's main trait was his sleepiness. No doubt about it.

"Should we get Byleth involved in this?" she inquired, getting a sigh in return. Definitely a yes at the moment.

"Do you know where her room is?" Mercedes remarked, getting a nod from her princess of a girlfriend. The giggle she got after is a possible cause for concern.

"I've been there many times." Petra continued and led Mercedes down the walkway. "She had me carry up her bookcase!"

Mercedes let out a sigh. While she had no clue what her girlfriend was - well, outside of all the furniture that had been piled up on the ground for some reason, that didn't matter at the moment.

"Good to know." the church gal answered. slamming her foot into the door. Which begs the question of why the fuck are you wearing spiked stilletos to bed. What happens when you shift your position? That's just asking for trouble. Which isn't even going into the second problem of those. Bed sheets don't hold up well when someone applies something sharp to them. Unless you have one of those enchanted sheets, then I call bull.

Now inside (on top of owing Byleth a door repair), she made quick work of finding the professor. By doing what else - whipping her into shape. Which just looks painful from my persp-

"Uh… morning, Mercedes?" Byleth greeted, rousing from her slumber. Though, she did make sure to point her not-stolen sword towards her intruders in the process of checking the time. "What makes you think that busting in my door at this hour."

Mercedes took a deep breath, looking away from the professor. How exactly does one go explaining this at the current hour. Outside of trying to change the subject.

"Caspar stole my car and crashed in Zanado." Mercedes explained, finding both Petra and Byleth examining her 'pajamas'. "Okay… Sometimes I work as a dom for a couple of my classmates."

Petra did a double take. While that sounded menacing, this couldn't be too bad. Right?

"What's a dom?" she remarked, getting a deep breath from her girlfriend. Yep. You walked right into that one, girl. In retrospect, maybe don't smash down doors with spiked tipped stilettos. Things usually work out better when you don't do that.

"I helped bring relief to tired people." the church gal explained, setting her whip to the side. "I hope that's not a deal-breaker."

Petra shook her head. Oh dear. She didn't understand any part of what Mercedes said. I would say I feel bad for her, but she kind of brought this down on herself.

"No. That sounds quite wonderful, actually." the princess explained, getting a double take from Byleth. Then it's back over to Byleth.

"So I'm guessing you want to join my class then?" Byleth inquired, a nod from Mercedes. Whatever works for you, I guess.

"If you could be so kind." the dom answered, smile out in full force. Taking a deep breath, she got a nod. "Wonderful. We'll hammer out the details when we get back."

Mercedes has joined your house!

"Mrgrgrgr…" a voice announced and Sothis entered. "What is it now?"

Byleth took a deep breath, patting the child's head.

"Life." she answered, taking a deep breath. Never in her life did she ever think that she would be waking up at 2 in the morning because someone did something stupid. That was life some days, this one more than other days in particular.

Notes:

Yeah. That happened.

Next Time: The rest


	12. Domestic Nightmares

I don't own fire emblem.

Summary: We gather up the rest of the troops and get ready to head for Zanado.

* * *

**Log 25: Domestic Nightmares**

Bernadetta found herself back here again.

Dressed in the same nefarious contraption, trapped within the same stupid room. The nightmare that never seems to end - no matter what she does.

"Bernadetta?"

Turning around, relief washed over the archer. After what seemed like forever, she wasn't alone in here. Of course, said friend was Edelgard of all people seemed like a wild card. Decked out in red, how would the man react to her friend?

"Yes, Lady Edelgard?" the archer whispered, watching her girlfriend come over. "I'm sorry about this."

Edelgard shook her head. Putting a hand on her back, what looks to be her axe came out. The swing that follows came dangerously close to the archer. The sound of shackles splitting follow.

Looking down, she found herself free. Yet why didn't she feel that way? This was a triumphant victory to a battle within her own head that had gone on for far too long. So why was it so hollow in that regard? Like she didn't warn this.

"Let's get going." Edelgard explained, grabbing hold of the archer's hand. Bernadetta accepted the gesture.

Of course, he had to make his appearance at the moment. Footsteps booming as he approached, the next battle about to begin.

"Bernadetta, what did I tell you about bringing friends in?!" the man screeched, hand connecting with her face. It hurts. It hurts. It hurts. Yet when his gaze turned to Edelgard, his face was lit aflame.

"How dare you drag her of all people into this!"

Once more, his fist meets her face. Hurts even more the second time around. Even with Edelgard right beside her at the moment, it hurts just a bit more. "She's nothing more than a demon, born of twisted flames."

Bernadetta's gaze swiveled over to Edelgard. That couldn't be true. That man was just playing with her head in the hopes of keeping her in his grasp. But as she stared towards her girlfriend, their appearance begin to shift and twist about

"Edelgard?" she whispered, fear on the verge of entering her body. This thing had just taken the form of eselgard by order of her father. That was why the large bony angel thing that was currently tearing the place down past the studs and into the abyss surrounding it. "Edelgard, please tell me that isn't you."

'Edelgard' continues her destructive rampage, paying little mind to the archer. Even more so as their captor began to laugh.

"She never really cared about you. Not one bit." the man announced, pumping his chest out in the Hope's of looking any bigger than he already was, currently. Before Bernadetta has a chance to really react,

The man smashes her to the floor, holding the archer to the ground. Bending down, he began unbuttoning her top.

"Your purpose is to become nothing more than a baby making machine for whatever man I choose for you. Not some girl fucker. Let alone some demon fucker."

Try as Bernadetta might to struggle out, the man's grip won out over her body. Even more so as a knife came into view. If she could just grab hold.

Ignoring the mixed messages bouncing about her head, the archer went for the knife. Grabbing hold, she threw it his way. But her throw wasn't good enough. Instead of reaching the man, Bernadetta had stabbed herself in the leg. Not your finest moment. Especially

Eyes now open, Bernadetta scanned her surroundings. She was back in her room, everything where it needed to be.

"Bernadetta?"

Looking down, the archer found Edelgard laying down beside her. Taking a deep breath, her attention returned to her door.

"Oh right." she thought, finding the permission slip on her nightstand. Giving it a look, a sigh of relief followed. "Phew."

What wasn't so welcome though, was the sound of boots smashing down the door.

"Sorry about this!" Mercedes announced, making a hole this time. Pulling her hand through, she opened it up. "Caspar needs to be rescued."

Taking a deep breath, Bernadetta gave Edelgard a slight shake. The house leader roused from her slumber, shooting Mercedes a look.

"Mercedes, so you know what hour it even is?" Edelgard screeched, the dom letting out a sigh. Though, that is a good question to ask. Good for establishing time scale and stuff.

"2:25 am." Mercedes answered, Petra poking her head. "She's of age, right?"

Edelgard leaned over, giving Bernadetta a little space. After, she dug into her clothes and pulled out her register. A quick look followed.

"She's 15." Edelgard remarked and Mercedes sighed. Gaze back on Petra, this doesn't look good.

"You'll have to wait a year." the dom explained, her subject letting out a deep breath. At least she was taking it in stride. "I trust you can wait?"

Petra nodded. Then it's back over to their 'hosts'. "We'll be waiting at the gate."

With that, they headed off.

.

Hubert hated these sort of these moments. Always considering himself more of a tool to be used in the hands of a capable master than a person, these days brought out a certain level of frustration within. Had to be something more productive than his current task. Not that he could think of anything better. Probably why he was standing over a BBQ, grilling hamburgers and hot dogs. Ferdinand was inside, something about making sure that the kids actually washed their hands for once. The sun was shining, birds chirping out their wings like this was something out of, I don't know... a fairy tale. Except all fairy tales were kind of shit to their characters in the first place. For example, one of the stepsisters in Cinderella chopped some toes off in order to fit into that slipper. Secondly, it was fur. Not glass. A glass slipper just looks prettier, I guess?

"What happened to me?" the dark mage thought, flipping a patty with relative ease. As tasty as the circle of meat looked, it didn't change how he felt right now. War just had to happen, any moment this peace could give way to times of bloodshed and of course - subterfuge. The perfect use for someone like him.

But the sun kept shining and the birds kept chirping. It was as if the world just trying to mock him at the moment.

"Stop!" he screeched, shaking his fist at the sky. Normally, that would change it. Since you know, dream logic. But it refused.

"What are you doing?"

Turning around, Hubert found Ferdinand was poking his head out of the sliding door.

"Trying to make it stormy." Hubert muttered, stomping his boot into the concrete. Still nothing. So he turned his focus to the meat on the grill and began plating them. "Seriously, something bad needs to happen to justify my existence."

The rest of Ferdinand exited the house, making his way over to what I can only assume to be husband.

"I am Ferdinand von Aegir and I demand whatever demon who put such thoughts into my husband's head to leave at once!"

The hand connects with the dark mage's face, eyes shooting open in that moment. He's back in Ferdinand's room, his boyfriend already awake. To be exact, he's standing right over him. Still decked out in his pajamas, but looked about ready to change into his uniform for some reason.

"Sorry about that." Ferdinand remarked, watching Hubert just shake his head. The dark mage then shifted positions, rolling to the other side of the bed. "We're needed."

Taking a deep breath, Hubert slid his shirt back on. He caught a glance at the time, shaking his head. Of course it happens at this ungodly hour.

"Who was it?" he barked, Ferdinand looking down to the ground. He was pretty sure he had a good idea of who was behind this mess. "It's Caspar, isn't it?"

A nod, his boyfriend now fully dressed. He was almost there.

"Took one of Mercedes's cars on top of Linhardt and Claude." Ferdinand continued, spear in hand. "Everyone's waiting for us at the gates."

Hubert nodded, finishing dressing himself and headed for the door. His boyfriend followed right behind.

The drone flight that follows is quite quick. Quiet too. Especially as the pair can see their teammates already waiting for them down below.

"That should be everybody." Byleth remarked, turning to Mercedes. "I trust that you know where we need to go?"  
Mercedes nodded.

"Leave it to me." the dom explained, now dressed in her uniform. With that, they headed for what looked to be a minivan. Not without getting a wave from the friendly gatekeeper. Must be on his graveyard shift. Best of luck, Gatekeeper.

Oh yeah. Good luck to you guys as well.

* * *

Notes:

What's this? A Bernadetta section that's actually part of the main line of fics? It's more likely than you think.

Next Time: The actual battle. Kinda.


	13. Raining Gray and Red

I don't own fire emblem.

Summary: We end out the second chapter of this story with a dramatic rescue. After all, in for a penny. In for a pound.

* * *

**Log 26: Raining Gray and Red**

In retrospect, this had all gone horribly wrong. Not that Caspar had a plan to begin with. Well, if you didn't count losing Claude somewhere in one of Zanado's abandoned houses. Linhardt was still with him. Which I guess is something in this moment.

"Quite the balls you have here." a bandit announced, picking the boy up by his privates. Ouch. Reproductive capabilities definitely took a hit here. "Though, that's to be expected from someone from Bergliez Territory."

Caspar stared towards this bandit to the best of his abilities. While he hadn't announced who he was in the first place, how did this goon know? Sure, he made a point to keep some distance from his father - especially after what happened at the last family reunion. But that couldn't be the connection here. At this point, there was no loss in asking.

"How do you know who I am?" Caspar shouted, getting a chuckle from the grunt. That's never good.

"Your mom past through the other day, saying something about one of her boys coming through in the future. Guess she was right."

Caspar looked down. While his memory of the one who brought him into the world was not the best, he sort of remembered her.

"Isn't she the one who nearly gave us food poisoning because she forgot what temperature that you cook chicken at?" Linhardt chimed in, getting a groan from his boyfriend. While that had only happened once, he wasn't sure why that particular memory had stuck in the scholar's head. Maybe it was because that

"Yeah." Caspar remarked, pulling his legs back. A wannabe roundhouse followed. While he did connect with his captor's chest, that hadn't been enough to free himself from their grip. So our luckless fighter went for something a bit more personal at the moment - the privates. Considering what had been done to his at the moment, that's quite fair in my book.

"You little…" the bandit muttered, dropping Caspar to the ground. The punch from the fighter is almost enough to do him in. "Ha. You wouldn't go through with it, would you?"

One more punch follows, the bandit crumpling to the ground. The fighter stared towards his fresh kill, adrenaline on high.

"Do you need some healing?" Linhardt inquired and scurried on over. Caspar shook his head, letting his non-bloody hand grab hold of his boyfriend's. If anything, any wounds on him were more psychological than physical for the moment. He had just killed someone. For real. Not like in some videogames where it was as easy as just a couple of button presses. No, he had just smashed his fist into a man and watched his skull slam right into the concrete floor.

"I'll be alright." Caspar whispered, scanning the area for any other bandits at the moment. When he was certain things were safe, the pair dashed ahead. Of course, things couldn't be that simple for the moment. "Crap."

If he had planned a bit further ahead, he probably would've fought harder to hold onto his axe. Now, it was in the hands of some stupid bandit. Said bandit had probably handed it over to his boss for safe keeping. If at all.

Now, he and Linhardt had a crud-ton of bandits circling around them and no real way to deal with them. Okay, Caspar still had his fists. But they could only do so much.

"Linhardt, no matter what happens, I love you." Caspar whispered, letting go of his friend's hand as the rain continued to fall. What followed, was a complete blur for the scholar. One second, they were surrounded by bandits. The next, corpses surrounded them. Even worse, his hands had splatters of red upon them.

"Caspar?" he called out, the fighter looking towards him. Eyes dulled out, body shaking in the cold. Running over to him, he wrapped an arm around him and stood up. "Stay with me! Please… don't die on me."

Each step hurt like hell, a strange cross between walking across broken glass and paper cuts from endless bureaucratic papers. The mustang shouldn't be that much further. Caspar should still have the keys. While he didn't have his license yet, it should be a ci-

Of course, all the bandits in Zanado were intent on following them. Because of course they were. Wouldn't surprise if Claude had sold them out and just stole the car back. Sounded like something he would do. Not that Caspar handing him over for the mere cost of 500 gold that much better.

"My… what do we have here?"

Jumping down from a nearby building, would you believe it? The Bandit Leader of course. Who else could it be right now. Possibly a failed wrestler (somehow). Those people are just actors who get themselves hurt. A lot. Oh well. Guess there's more money than

"So you're actually trying to make a run for it. Even after you sold your friend out." he explained, knife coming out. Throwing it towards the scholar, Linhardt closed his eyes and braced himself for the pain. Feeling it, but at the same time - not.

He was fairly certain that the blade had slammed right into his body. Why hadn't it? Better yet, why did he have the memory of such an event.

"Linhardt! Caspar!" a voice called out, an arrow piercing through their opponent's skin right after. Looking forward, there we find the rest of the black eagles. Even Sothis joined the charge.

"Teach, you arrived." the scholar muttered, trying his to stay awake as Mercedes ran up. First aid kit in hand and dressed back in her officer's outfit, she made short work of Linhardt's injuries.

While that was happening, Petra and Ferdinand were trading blows with the bandit leader. Edelgard followed right behind. Axe pulled back, she seemed ready to go all 'queen of hearts' on this guy. Okay. I can sort of see a resemblance, but not quite.

"Wait a minute. I think kn-"

The bandit leader doesn't get to finish their sentence, mostly because they no longer have a head to finish it. Guess someone's got themselves a secret. One taken to their grave. Dead men tell no tales after all.

Judging by the look my wife is giving me, that 'pun' wasn't appreciated. Oh well.

"Is it done?" Petra whispered, their opponent's body falling over. Sheathing her sword, she let her focus turn to the other bandits. They turned tail and fled. Good riddance. So the princess pumped her fist into the air. "We have claimed the victory!"

Byleth chuckled, only for Sothis to give her a tug. Turning around, she knelt to be around her child's level.

"Something wrong, Sothis?" she whispered, Sothis looking away for the moment. Mumbles of pain exit her mouth, afraid that speaking it out loud will just make this hurt even more.

"This place… I think it was my home at one point." Sothis finally croaked out, tears rolling down her face. "But it's different now. The houses aren't in the same places and all the landmarks I used to know have been destroyed."

Carefully, Byleth wrapped her arms around Sothis. She had never been so good with the whole emotion thing, but she was getting better.

"It'll be alright." she whispered and stood back up, hand still gripping her child's for the moment as she focused on her students. "Let's get back to the academy."

Everyone nodded, Linhardt taking the time to dick the mustang's keys out from Caspar's pocket. Mercedes took them off his hands, happy to have them back. No doubt about it.

"Don't think about trying this again." she warned, giving a wave. "Crap. I'm the only one who has a driver's license?"

Hubert chuckled, flashing a flimsy piece of paper that was definitely not a license. But at this hour, it was close enough.

"Just drive carefully." Ferdinand barked, the dark mage nodding. Heading towards the outskirts of Zanado, the drive back is mostly careful, if you don't count the one time that they went flying over a speed bump.

* * *

Notes:

That's the end of chapter 2. Chapter 3 is somehow even longer and it's still going at the time of writing. Oh dear.

Next Time: We have someone bring on the thunder heading right into chapter 3.


End file.
